avyaktādīni bhūtāni

vyakta-madhyāni bhārata
avyakta-nidhanāny eva
tatra kā paridevanā
Translation of Bhagavad Gita 2.28
All created beings are unmanifest in their beginning,
manifest in their interim state, and unmanifest again when
annihilated. So what need is there for lamentation?

Commentary by Sri A.C. Bhaktivedanta

Swami Prabhupada of Gaudiya Sampradaya:
Accepting that there are two classes of philosophers, one
believing in the existence of the soul and the other not
believing in the existence of the soul, there is no cause for
lamentation in either case. Nonbelievers in the existence of
the soul are called atheists by followers of Vedic wisdom.
Yet even if, for argument’s sake, we accept this atheistic
theory, there is still no cause for lamentation. Apart from
the separate existence of the soul, the material elements
remain unmanifested before creation. From this subtle
state of nonmanifestation comes manifestation, just as
from ether, air is generated; from air, fire is generated;
from fire, water is generated; and from water, earth
becomes manifested. From the earth, many varieties of
manifestations take place. Take, for example, a big
skyscraper manifested from the earth. When it is
dismantled, the manifestation becomes again unmanifested
and remains as atoms in the ultimate stage. The law of
conservation of energy remains, but in course of time
things are manifested and unmanifested—that is the
difference. Then what cause is there for lamentation either
in the stage of manifestation or in unmanifestation?
Somehow or other, even in the unmanifested stage, things
are not lost. Both at the beginning and at the end, all
elements remain unmanifested, and only in the middle are
they manifested, and this does not make any real material
difference.
And if we accept the Vedic conclusion as stated in the
Bhagavad-gita that these material bodies are perishable in
due course of time (antavanta ime dehah) but that the soul
is eternal (nityasyoktah saririnah), then we must
remember always that the body is like a dress; therefore
why lament the changing of a dress? The material body
has no factual existence in relation to the eternal soul. It is
something like a dream. In a dream we may think of flying
in the sky, or sitting on a chariot as a king, but when we
wake up we can see that we are neither in the sky nor
seated on the chariot. The Vedic wisdom encourages self-
realization on the basis of the nonexistence of the material
body. Therefore, in either case, whether one believes in
the existence of the soul or one does not believe in the
existence of the soul, there is no cause for lamentation for
loss of the body.